I first joined Facebook in 2009. It was my third year of working in a small business I had founded, and the third year in which I had not written at all, and had barely read books.
* * *
* * *
What about Twitter? What would becoming really active on Twitter do my brain? I know I would begin thinking in 140 characters. And would I unconsciously not pursue complex thoughts, which I could not reduce to 140 characters?
Twitter is an invaluable tool for writers–it teaches you elegance, succinctness and clear thinking in 140 characters.
But, occasionally, like J. Alfred Prufrock, we’ll just have to lament, “I have measured out my life in coffee spoons” of sentences.
And will our activity in social media–blogging, facebook and twitter diminish our capacity for the concentrated thought necessary for essays or longer books? We are living in the middle of an unfolding experiment, and will just have to wait and see!!
Thanks, Rhoda!
That's interesting how you start thinking in what you write 🙂 With Twitter I tend to limit it to writing down what I learn from my Bible reading, or good quotes that I hear, so I'm not really putting my life on there. That means that they're distinct for me. And Facebook I put more personal stuff, or longer quotes which won't fit on Twitter! Anyway I'm glad you're not limiting yourself to Facebook anymore because I enjoy your blog 🙂